Ravinia 2021 - Issue 1

8:00 PM THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MARIN ALSOP, conductor JULIA BULLOCK, soprano † PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 (“Classical”) Allegro Larghetto Gavotte: Non troppo allegro Finale: Molto vivace MAHLER Symphony No. 4 Bedächtig In gemächtlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast Ruhevoll Sehr behaglich. [Soprano solo] “Wir genießen die himmlischen Freuden” Julia Bullock There will be no intermission in this program. † Ravinia debut Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Program Sponsor The Fremont Foundation . PAVILION SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891–1953) Symphony No. 1 in D major, op. 25 (“Classical”) Scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, timpani, and strings Several early-20th-century composers ad- opted a refined, nostalgic compositional approach—generically termed “Neoclassi- cism”—in opposition to late-Romantic bom- bast and excess. At one time in their careers, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Richard Strauss all joined the well-populated list of musicians experimenting with this retro- spective modernism. Interest in stylistic his- toricism has never completely disappeared. Nourished by the early-music movement, a recent wave of quasi-mystical composers (Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, and Henryk Goréc- ki, among others) have quarried Medieval and Renaissance repertoires for composition- al models. Completely different agendas prompted Russian/Soviet composer and pianist Sergei Prokofiev to write his “Classical” Symphony. Motivation first arose from a practical chal- lenge. During the summer after the February Revolution (1917), Prokofiev moved to quiet lodgings outside Petrograd (Saint Peters- burg). Lacking a keyboard at which to work, he began “toying with the idea of writing a whole symphony without the piano.” Fur- thermore, Prokofiev had acquired a taste for Haydn’s music in conducting classes with Ni- kolai Tcherepnin at the conservatory. The proposed symphonic project allowed Prokofiev a momentary opportunity to mod- ernize 18th-century forms and stylistic fea- tures, justifying his experiment with a touch of speculation. “It seemed to me that had Haydn lived to our day he would have re- tained his own style while accepting some- thing of the new at the same time. That was the kind of symphony I wanted to write: a symphony in the classical style. And when I saw that my idea was beginning to work, I called it the ‘Classical’ symphony: in the first place because that was simpler, and secondly for the fun of it, to ‘tease the geese,’ and in the secret hope that it would prove me right if the symphony really did turn out to be a piece of classical music.” The resulting score undeniably belongs to the “classics” of 20th-century symphonic litera- ture. Prokofiev tricks the ear in the opening phrases of the Allegro with a relatively accu- rate Classical stylization. However, shifting tonal planes soon betray the composer’s per- sonal accent. A staccato bassoon line accom- panies the delicate, wide-leaping secondary theme in the violins. The exposition does not repeat but proceeds after a measure of rest into the development, where both themes experience intensive variation, and the sec- ond theme undergoes extended rhythmic displacement. Recapitulation begins with the correct melody in the wrong key, then con- tinues through a relatively standard sequence of themes. A three-section Larghetto emulates the instru- mental “arias” of Haydn’s symphonies. Outer portions present a tranquil, stratospheric violin melody, while the central theme in- troduces steady 16th-note motion. The third movement substitutes a stately, four-beat Ga- votte for the standard triple-meter minuet, although the trio retains a Haydnesque folk quality. Two versions of this movement exist, one longer and more thickly scored than the other. Prokofiev concluded with a spirited, compact sonata-allegro Finale . Sergei Prokofiev GUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911) Symphony No. 4 in G major Scored for four flutes and two piccolos, three oboes and English horn, three B-flat clarinets, E-flat clarinet, and bass clarinet, three bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, timpani, bass drum, triangle, sleigh bells, glockenspiel, cymbals, tam-tam, harp, strings, and solo soprano voice Symphony No. 4, the most “traditional” or- chestral work in terms of instrumentation and compositional techniques, culminated Mahler’s early cycle of Wunderhorn sympho- nies. This celebrated orchestral group was in- timately connected with the large and influ- ential three-volume folk collection of Ludwig Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano— Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn; 1805, 1808, and 1818). Numerous late-Romantic artists visited this treasury of German folk poetry and lore, perhaps seek- ing a refuge from the increasing complexities of the world around them. In the Wunder- horn poems, Mahler perceived meaning be- yond the surface naiveté of expression, a sim- ple folk wisdom that captured truths of life and death better perhaps than more cultivat- ed forms of poetry. Mahler first encountered this folk collection in 1888 and immediately began setting nine poems for solo voice and piano, eventually published as volumes two and three of his Lieder und Gesänge (commonly called the 9 Wunderhorn Lieder , 1888–91). Another an- thology of 10 Wunderhorn songs for voice and orchestra took shape during the years 1892 and 1896, overlapping with the creation of the Second and Third Symphonies, each of which contains vocal movements based on this folk verse. The Wunderhorn obsession carried Mahler through one more symphony and two late solo songs. As the century reached its conclusion, expand- ing conducting responsibilities (especially his 1897 appointment as director of the Vienna Opera) demanded more time of Mahler. He Gustav Mahler RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 1 – JULY 23, 2021 58